Infusion Port Access Garment

ABSTRACT

An infusion port access garment includes a shirt that includes a front panel and a rear panel attached together and which has an upper edge, a lower edge, a first side edge and a second side edge. The lower edge is open and the upper edge has a neck opening extending therethrough. A first sleeve is attached to the first side edge adjacent to the upper edge and a second sleeve is attached to the second side edge adjacent to the upper edge. The front panel has a break therein to define a free flap that is openable from a remaining portion of the front panel to facilitate access to an interior of the shirt. The free flap is positioned adjacent to the neck opening. A coupler is mounted on the shirt and releasably retains the free flap in a closed position.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Field of the Disclosure

The disclosure relates to patient access garments and more particularly pertains to a new patient access garment for providing access to an infusion port or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprises a shirt that includes a front panel and a rear panel attached together and which has an upper edge, a lower edge, a first side edge and a second side edge. The lower edge is open and the upper edge has a neck opening extending therethrough. A first shoulder is defined between the first side edge and the neck opening. A first sleeve is attached to the first side edge adjacent to the upper edge and a second sleeve is attached to the second side edge adjacent to the upper edge. The front panel has a break therein to define a free flap that is openable from a remaining portion of the front panel to facilitate access to an interior of the shirt. The free flap is positioned adjacent to the neck opening. A coupler is mounted on the shirt and releasably retains the free flap in a closed position.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an infusion port access garment according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 4 thereof, a new patient access garment embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4, the infusion port access garment 10 generally comprises a shirt 12 that includes a front panel 14 and a rear panel 16 attached together and which has an upper edge 18, a lower edge 20, a first side edge 22 and a second side edge 24. The lower edge 20 is open and the upper edge 18 has a neck opening 26 extending therethrough. A first shoulder 28 is defined between the first side 22 edge and the neck opening 26. FIG. 4 shows a mirror image of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 to demonstrate that the first shoulder 28 may be on a left side or a right side of the shirt 12. A first sleeve 30 is attached to the first side edge 22 adjacent to the upper edge 18 and a second sleeve 32 is attached to the second side edge 24 adjacent to the upper edge 18. The shirt 12 is generally a conventional shirt having a standard length such that the shirt 12 will not extend below a lowermost portion of a person's torso and may be comprised of any conventional cloth material.

The front panel 14 has a break 34 therein to define a free flap 36 that is openable from a remaining portion of the front panel 14 to facilitate access to an interior of the shirt 12 and more particularly to an infusion port of a person wearing the shirt 12. The free flap 36 is positioned adjacent to the neck opening 26 and the break 34 includes a first section 38 extending through and downwardly from a perimeter edge of the neck opening 26 and a second section 40 extending laterally from the first section 38 to the first side edge 22 such that a portion of front panel 14 and the first shoulder 28, defined as the free flap 36, is openable relative to a remaining portion of shirt 12. The first section 38 and the second section 40 are oriented perpendicular to each other. The second section 40 intersects the first section 38 at a distal end 42 of the first section 38 relative to the neck opening 26. The first 38 and second sections 40 each have a length equal to at least 25% of a distance from the neck opening 26 to the lower edge 20 and this length is equal to at least 4.0 inches.

A coupler 44 is mounted on the shirt 12 and releasably retains the free flap 36 in a closed position. The coupler 44 includes a first mating member 46 attached to the free flap 36 and a second member 48 attached to the remaining portion of the front panel 14. The coupler 44 may comprise a hook and loop coupler wherein the first 46 and second 48 mating members each extend continuously along an associated one of the first 38 and second 40 sections.

In use, the shirt 12 is worn in a conventional manner but would be worn by a person who has an infusion port for receiving, for example, intravenous chemotherapy treatments. The shirt 12 allows the person to conspicuously receive treatments without having to wear a gown or to change clothes before the treatment.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

I claim:
 1. A torso covering assembly configured to facilitate reception of an infusion port, said assembly comprising: a shirt including a front panel and a rear panel attached together and having an upper edge, a lower edge, a first side edge and a second side edge, said lower edge being open, said upper edge having a neck opening extending therethrough, a first shoulder being defined between said first side edge and said neck opening, a first sleeve being attached to said first side edge adjacent to said upper edge, a second sleeve being attached to said second side edge adjacent to said upper edge; said front panel having a break therein to define a free flap being openable from a remaining portion of said front panel to facilitate access to an interior of said shirt, said free flap being positioned adjacent to said neck opening; and a coupler being mounted on said shirt and releasably retaining said free flap in a closed position.
 2. The torso covering assembly according to claim 1, wherein said break includes a first section extending through and downwardly from a perimeter edge of said neck opening and a second section extending laterally from said first section to said first side edge such that a portion of front portion of said first shoulder is openable relative to a remaining portion of shirt.
 3. The torso covering assembly according to claim 2, wherein said first section and said second section are oriented perpendicular to each other.
 4. The torso covering assembly according to claim 3, wherein said second section intersects said first section at a distal end of said first section relative to said neck opening.
 5. The torso covering assembly according to claim 3, wherein said first and second sections each have a length equal to at least 25% of a distance from said neck opening to said lower edge.
 6. The torso covering assembly according to claim 1, wherein said coupler includes a first mating member being attached to said free flap and a second member attached to said remaining portion of said front panel.
 7. The torso covering assembly according to claim 2, wherein said coupler includes a first mating member being attached to said free flap and a second member attached to said remaining portion of said front panel, said coupler comprising a hook and loop coupler wherein said first and second mating members extend continuously along said first and second sections.
 8. A torso covering assembly configured to facilitate reception of an infusion port, said assembly comprising: a shirt including a front panel and a rear panel attached together and having an upper edge, a lower edge, a first side edge and a second side edge, said lower edge being open, said upper edge having a neck opening extending therethrough, a first shoulder being defined between said first side edge and said neck opening, a first sleeve being attached to said first side edge adjacent to said upper edge, a second sleeve being attached to said second side edge adjacent to said upper edge; said front panel having a break therein to define a free flap being openable from a remaining portion of said front panel to facilitate access to an interior of said shirt, said free flap being positioned adjacent to said neck opening, said break including a first section extending through and downwardly from a perimeter edge of said neck opening and a second section extending laterally from said first section to said first side edge such that a portion of front portion of said first shoulder is openable relative to a remaining portion of shirt, said first section and said second section being oriented perpendicular to each other, said second section intersecting said first section at a distal end of said first section relative to said neck opening, said first and second sections each having a length equal to at least 25% of a distance from said neck opening to said lower edge; and a coupler being mounted on said shirt and releasably retaining said free flap in a closed position, said coupler including a first mating member being attached to said free flap and a second member attached to said remaining portion of said front panel, said coupler comprising a hook and loop coupler wherein said first and second mating members extend continuously along said first and second sections. 